Despite different approaches and geographies, these organizations, their coaches, and their participants demonstrate the power of running as a tool for girls’ and women’s empowerment on a daily basis. In the locations where these organizations implement programs, running, and sports in general, are not often seen as a “women’s domain.” Just by running in public, these women are participating in a form of rebellion and are challenging gender norms. When asked how running makes them feel, the most common responses included words such as free, strong, and confident. These words demonstrate that the benefits of running are more than just physical health and speak to its power to build strong leaders and communities.

Ruba has been a participant with FTR since early 2023. She and her family are among the more than 400,000 Yazidis who were forced to leave their home in Sinjar, northern Iraq, during the war against ISIS. Ruba’s family has been internally displaced in Iraq since 2014, and now  live in Duhok. When asked what running means to her, Ruba shared,

Ruba, Free to Run, Duhok, Iraq

The profound impact of these organizations extends beyond individual experiences to community building. Through shared experiences, mutual support, and collective empowerment, participants and coaches become sources of motivation for everyone involved. Witnessing female role models and peers break barriers, challenge stereotypes, and pursue their passions inspires others to do the same. This empowerment from within the community creates a positive feedback loop, where each success story fuels the aspirations of others, leading to a continuous cycle of growth and empowerment.

Since 2021, the Spark Change Program has connected Latinas in Motion, Free to Run, Girls Gotta Run Foundation, and Amazing Maasai Girls Project to share learnings, best practices, and knowledge in addition to supporting the organizations through unrestricted funding. Over the past 3 years, these four organizations have directly impacted over 2,500 girls and young women in their communities through their running and leadership programming.

Suzette Rodriguez, Latina in Motion, Philadelphia, USA

Learn more about the Spark Change organizations below:

• Latinas in Motion, Philadelphia, USA 

• Girls Gotta Run, Soddo & Bekoji, Ethiopia

• Free to Run, Erbil, Duhok, and Sinjar, Iraq

• Amazing Maasai Girls Project, Laikipia, Kenya

We are excited to announce that the ROLL Models Advisory Board has finished the selection process and selected 16 ROLL Models for 2022, who will design and deliver skateboarding projects aimed at encouraging girls, women and non-binary persons to get rolling in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain and the UK. This year’s ROLL Models are a mixture of new applicants and returning ROLL Models who implemented projects over the previous past two years.

For the first time during this three-year partnership, we will be bringing together all 2022 ROLL Models in an in-person Leadership Camp, taking place in May in Berlin, Germany. Additionally, each ROLL Model will receive a grant to fund their project idea (€1500-3000 per project), as well as receiving ongoing support and guidance from Skateistan and Women Win.

A massive thank you to everyone that applied this year – it was incredibly inspiring to read so many innovative project ideas aimed at increasing girls participation in skateboarding.

The full list of selected 2022 ROLL Models is below:

• Britt Vanmolle, Belgium
• Carla Böger, The Netherlands
• Denita Kopita, Greece
• Erato Chatira, Greece
• Giovanna Rinaudo, Italy
• Ilaria Naef, Italy
• Iyana Williams, Spain
• Kiera Cooksey, United Kingdom

• Lena Germanese, France
• Lucia Cortés Soltmann, Germany
• Marie-Ermelinda Mayassi, UK
• Rachael Sherlock, UK
• Sille Tødten, Germany
• Talulla Cameron, UK
• Thảo Trần, Germany
• Theresa Westphal, Germany

About the ROLL Models Programme

The ROLL Models programme is a three-year collaboration by Skateistan’s Goodpush Alliance and Women Win. Between 2020-2022, the ROLL Models programme aims to support 75 women leaders in Europe with leadership training and over €100,000 in seed grants.

Calling all young women and non-binary people with a passion for skateboarding and a powerful idea to get more young people on boards in Europe!

For the third year in a row, Skateistan and Women Win are teaming up to support women and non-binary leadership in skateboarding and inspire the next generation to be empowered, active and healthy.

The ROLL Models programme is designed to support and create visibility for diverse young skaters across Europe based in: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain or the United Kingdom.

We’re currently seeking applications from young women and non-binary people (aged 18-30) who have an idea for a project that will use skateboarding to improve the physical and mental well-being of girls and non-binary children (aged 5-18) and promote gender equity. The ROLL Models programme is a unique opportunity for women and non-binary people with a passion for skateboarding to connect with and support each other.

For this year, we are excited to announce that as well as recruiting new ROLL Models, we will also be providing renewal grants for ROLL Models from previous years!

Selected ROLL Models candidates will receive:

• A seed-grant of up to €3000 to fund their project idea
• A place at our ROLL Models Leadership Camp in Berlin** (Depending on COVID-19 travel restrictions)
• Support and guidance from Skateistan and Women Win

How does it work?

Approximately 20 young women will be selected to attend our ROLL Models Leadership Camp in Berlin, where they will take part in leadership and skateboard programming workshops, develop their project ideas, and connect with other ROLL Models from around Europe. All ROLL Models will then receive a seed-grant towards their project, as well as ongoing guidance from Skateistan and Women Win. Approximately €33,000 in grants will be awarded to the selected ROLL Models in 2022.

We are also pleased to announce that our ROLL Models Advisory Board continues and this year’s ROLL Models will be selected by this Board, composed of 5 previous ROLL Models from 2020 and 2021.

To be eligible to apply, you must:

• Identify as a woman or non-binary, aged 18-30 years old
• Be based in one of the following countries: Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain or the UK
• Have an idea for a project to empower girls through skateboarding
• Be available to attend our ROLL Models Leadership Camp in May (exact date TBD)

Guidelines for project proposals:

• Proposed project activities must take place between 1 May and 30 September 2022
• Projects should work with girls, young women or non-binary people aged 5-18 years old
• Applicants can apply for one of two seed-grant amounts;
  • €1500 – for individual applicants, not affiliated with an organisation/group
  • €3000 – for applicants that are either staff or volunteers of an existing organisation/group

We look forward to hearing about you and your idea through our short application form (details below), and please share this with any other young skaters out there who have ROLL Model potential!

How to Apply:

Use this link to complete and submit the short application form.

If you have any issues in submitting your application or have any additional questions, then please email rollmodels@womenwin.org with the subject ‘ROLL Models Application’.

While the Leadership Camp and ROLL Model activities will be carried out in English, we can support with interpretation if required. Please let us know in your application form if you require this.  You can find more answers to common questions and full application details on our FAQ.

We are keen to make the ROLL Models programme as inclusive as possible and actively look to support all cis, trans, non-binary and all other underrepresented groups and communities such as black, indigenous, people of colour, LGBTQI+, refugees and migrant girls and women with or without disabilities.

 

Applications are open until Friday, 4th March 2022

 

About Women Win and Skateistan

Women Win is a global multi-dimensional women’s fund guided by the vision of a future where every girl and woman exercises her rights. Since 2007, Women Win has leveraged the power of play to support almost 3 million adolescent girls and young women in over 100 countries to build leadership skills and become better equipped to exercise their rights.

Skateistan is an award-winning international NGO which empowers children through skateboarding and creative education in Afghanistan, Cambodia and South Africa. The Goodpush Alliance is an initiative by Skateistan to support and share knowledge among social skateboarding projects worldwide, offering workshops, awards and online resources.

Women Win is proud to announce our role as one of the first partners behind a new global movement to reshape sport and development in response to COVID-19. As a first step, the International Platform on Sport and Development (sportanddev) is hosting a global campaign calling on more stakeholders to join them in seeking new solutions to the pandemic. 

The campaign is aimed at reshaping sport to better serve all in society and demonstrate the contribution of sport and physical activity at this critical time, as global actors seek new solutions and remedies to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Sport can play a vital role in contributing to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, and promoting equity, access, and inclusion in society. However, many challenges remain, with much work to be done to ensure a level playing field. Our world has changed dramatically and rapidly. COVID-19 has exposed the fault lines in society, exacerbated inequities and challenged the way people design, deliver and participate in sport.

The campaign will include a call for articles from the diverse sportanddev community, an interactive webinar and final report summarising themes and key actions. There will also be community consultations to input into the development of an upgraded sportanddev platform, in order to increase collaboration, coordination and ultimately impact of sport’s role in society. We aim to raise 200,000 US dollars to help build a more inclusive and equitable sport and development sector. 

How can you support? 

You can join and support this campaign in a range of ways (including in-kind contributions). Partners will receive various benefits, including branding and visibility.      

Find out more about the campaign and the benefits of joining

To join as a partner of the campaign, or for more information, please contact: Paul Hunt, Senior Project Manager, sportanddev: hunt@sa4d.org 

Deadline to join: 31 October 2021

 

Photo courtesy of Pro Sport Development

In celebration of the International Day of the Indigenous Woman, the International Indigenous Women Forum (FIMI) and WW are joining efforts to organize the virtual gathering “Indigenous women and girls in sports”.  This event will take place on Friday, September 17 at 7 AM Mexico Time ( 2 PM CET) and it is the second episode of the We Are ONSIDE Conversations, a series of gatherings and conversations that explore the intersection of feminism and advocacy in the sport for gender justice movement, through feminist voices from the global south.

2020 was destined to be a record year for lessons. With the global pandemic raging, and its disproportionate effect on women, girls, trans and non-binary people increasingly visible, we set ourselves an ambitious target on five audacious aims.

We are excited to announce that 20 ROLL Models have been selected for our 2021 programme. These ROLL Models will develop skateboarding projects aimed at encouraging girls and women to get rolling in Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, the Netherlands and the UK.

Each ROLL Model will participate in a leadership development programme, focused on designing and delivering skateboarding projects for girls, with excellence. Since COVID-19 restrictions in Europe are ongoing, the ROLL Models will connect with each other via a series of interactive webinars. Additionally, each ROLL Model will receive a grant to fund their project idea, as well as ongoing support and guidance from Skateistan and Women Win.

The full list of selected 2021 ROLL Models is below:

• Batoul Annani – France
• Simone Bauhuis – The Netherlands
• Layna Bentley – UK
• Lily Clawson-Chan – UK
• Jeanne Duval – France
• Anabel García – Germany
• Ryme Lahcene – France
• Malliouri Maria Garifallia – Greece
• Selma Hamouda – The Netherlands
• Marie Mayassi – UK

• Larissa Mayer – Germany
• Lea Francisca Meny – Germany
• Ilaria Naef – Italy
• Emma Pevernagie – Belgium
• Nasti Schkliarik – Germany
• Hannah Shrewsbury – UK
• Stephanie Norton – UK
• Imogen Thrussell – UK
• Lea Isabell Uhle – Germany
• Constantina Xafi – Greece

A massive thank you to everyone that applied this year. We received over 50 applications from across Europe, which were each reviewed by two members of our ROLL Models Board before a final selection meeting.

We look forward to starting the Leadership Camp webinars next month and sharing updates about the activities of the 2021 ROLL Models!